


Good Company

by immistermercury



Series: art student! freddie [3]
Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Finals, First Meetings, M/M, Studying, brian can't find anywhere to study, except they keep distracting each other, freddie is very smitten for jim, freddie plays piano to procrastinate
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-10 09:08:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17422997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/immistermercury/pseuds/immistermercury
Summary: He clutched his papers tightly as he watched the figure sat by the piano, the lightest and happiest notes falling from the piano keys and collapsing to the floor with a crescendo, loud enough to be heard several corridors down. The figure was hunched over, engrossed in the sounds, an abandoned sketchbook lying at his feet.ORBrian tries to study in the music hall, but he finds someone far more interesting than his physics problems.





	Good Company

**Author's Note:**

> This is a celebratory work - I'm officially going to be moving to London in just over six months! So to celebrate I'm going to write a fic about the boys in their university days, possibly with the addition of some Maylor if people want to read it (let me know!).

Brian was undeniably stressed. All the university libraries were crammed full, reeking of the stress of those around him and increasing his own in a feedback loop of despair. He longed for an escape from the others, somewhere to try and solve his problems without the interruption of the stench of sweat and the despondent sighs of others.

 

That was how he found himself outside of the music hall. He liked it when there was no one else in there, or at most only a few students like himself: definitely not a part of the department, but looking all the same for somewhere quiet to study. He liked the echo of the hall, the way it magnified footsteps to make him ever aware of someone coming to encroach on his personal bubble. He liked the acoustics when he hummed, even sang to himself; he liked the open space and the freedom he felt to spread around, to talk to himself. He couldn’t deny, however, that he also loved it when there was somebody in there - he preferred one person, he didn’t feel so much like an audience - somebody practicing their piece, or composing on one of the guitars or the grand piano. He loved the swell and fall of the music, the way it matched the thoughts in his mind and lulled him into a peaceful calm that he didn’t experience too often.

 

He clutched his papers tightly as he watched the figure sat by the piano, the lightest and happiest notes falling from the piano keys and collapsing to the floor with a crescendo, loud enough to be heard several corridors down. The figure was hunched over, engrossed in the sounds, an abandoned sketchbook lying at his feet. Brian felt an instant sense of community, the acknowledgment that this was another person looking for an escape, not built from stress but instead from an active desire to lose oneself.

 

His knock was weak, but it was heard. The hands faltered, the chord ringing out into the quiet air, the sound even louder as Brian opened the door carefully. “I didn’t mean to interrupt-” He started, looking over the man in front of him. He was dressed casually, a tank top hanging off his collarbones and jeans tight around his legs. Brian regarded him carefully, his gaze faltering when he met the other man’s eyes behind his hair. “Freddie Mercury, right?” He asked. Freddie was something of a legend on campus, often spoken of but never seen: he had heard many a raucous story of a one-night-stand, boys and girls bragging unequivocally, and many stories about a lurid performance onstage. He was a master of the stage, an actor and performer at heart, putting every part of himself into each character to create something outrageous.

 

Freddie stood up, grinning as he moved the hair from his face. “Who’s asking, darling?” He leaned against the piano, hands in his pockets. Brian surveyed him carefully, but was distracted when he met his eyes, however - it was like every story that he’d ever heard was right there, in those eyes, so dark and yet tinged with a pearlescent innocence.

 

“I’m Brian.” He introduced himself quickly. “I didn’t actually mean to interrupt you. I was hoping that I could study in here.” He smiled shyly, moving towards Freddie.

 

“Oh, darling! You should’ve said if you needed the room.” Freddie smiled kindly, gathering up his books that were thrown across the top of the piano and on the floor surrounding it. “I’m not in here for anything serious.”

 

Brian covered one of Freddie’s hands with his own. “You don’t need to do that.” He replied, Freddie’s kindness reflected in his own face. “I’m not here for anything musical. I’m physics and maths, actually. I just like the acoustics of the room.” He admitted, resting his books on top of the piano.

 

Freddie sat back down on the piano stool, looking up at him with an expression of intrigue. “I’m art and design.” He said softly, moving his books to the other side of the piano. “The music is just a bit of fun.” Brian smiled in response, nodding in agreement.

 

“Me too. I’ll turn my hand to anything.” He laughed. The atmosphere of the room was warm, immediate ease coming between the two men. “I play guitar, mostly. Piano too - sometimes I play the ukulele. I’ve even tried the harp.”

 

Freddie’s laughed made him smile in response as Brian grabbed his folder, thumbing through for the sheet of problems that he had to finish. “I never thought I’d find another harp player in a physicist.” Freddie spoke with obvious excitement, strangely endearing.

 

Brian chuckled, sitting on the floor by the piano and setting the pages out in front of him. “Mind if I creep out and listen while I do these?” He checked, looking up at Freddie. Freddie hummed, moving back to the piano. He uncrossed his ankles as he leaned forward, fingers hovering over the ivory of the keys. Now that he had an audience, he had become more conscious of not sounding as though he was just messing around.

 

“Go for it.” He responded as he pressed down a chord, listening to it reverberating around the walls of the hall. “I’m alternating between sketching and playing, so don’t expect constant entertainment.”

 

Brian found it easier to concentrate then, the mixture of companionable silence and short melodies somehow easing the right figures to mind. Occasionally he tilted up his head to listen, smiling lightly at how focused Freddie looked as he tried to progress short attempts into longer sequences, in awe at his ability to switch from one chord to another and immediately fix any gaps.

 

He barely noticed when the playing became continuous, without stumble or pause. He did, however, notice the soft humming that accompanied the music, creating a perfect partner for its richness. “What are you singing?” He asked as he came to the end of the first sheet, having moved to be laying on his front. “It sounds good.”

 

Freddie tucked his hair behind his ear as he smiled. “Oh, it’s only silly.” He insisted, passing the beginnings of the lyric sheet down to Brian. “I think I’m going to call it Sunday Morning. I’m trying to get into the mindset of a real Londoner, like a character. To see what it’s like when it’s not exotic.”

 

Brian glanced back up at him again. “A real Londoner?” He echoed, taking another glance over Freddie. “Surely you’re a real Londoner?” He chuckled, sitting up and passing the paper back to Freddie. “I like it, it’s fun. I’d like to hear it.”

 

Freddie grinned. “I’m not one of the Queen’s men, darling. I’ve moved here from Zanzibar.” He shook his hair back with a flourish and Brian hummed in realisation. “You can hear it when I’m finished. I’m writing it for my boyfriend, he couldn’t stop laughing when he heard the concept behind it. He thinks I’m being ridiculous, romanticising such a regular lifestyle.” He smiled fondly, and Brian couldn’t help but feel infected by his happiness.

 

“Boyfriend?” Brian asked, watching Freddie’s eyes narrow. “I’m not asking because of that!” He added quickly, aware of how crass the question could sound without the context of his thoughts. “I just haven’t met many openly gay men.” He admitted, suddenly realising how infantile he sounded.

 

Freddie softened up quickly. “Oh, don’t worry!” He smiled. “You have to be careful. People can change so quickly when they think that you’re going to infect them with some kind of magical queen dust.” He laughed himself, sitting on the floor beside Brian and grabbing his sketchbook, flicking back a few pages to find one of his completed drawings. “This is him. We share a flat on Holland Road. You’ll have to come over sometime.”

 

Brian smiled as he looked over the picture, an inky snapshot of a lazy morning coffee in bed. “Is the headboard a piano?” He asked, looking closer as Freddie pinkened and grinned.

 

“I’m nothing if not bohemian, my dear.” He responded, moving back to his current drawing. “He’s sick of being drawn so much, so he insisted that I have to find somebody else.” Brian grinned as he watched Freddie’s pencil trace over faintly sketched lines, defining and highlighting the contours of another face.

 

“Is that Roger Taylor?” He asked, trying to make out the face from the faint sketching over the guidelines.

 

“It is indeed.” Freddie flipped to a polaroid photo of Roger laughing, his hair dripping wet. “I’m drawing this one from my birthday party. Mary poured a drink over his head when he started trying to flirt with her.”

 

Brian laughed. “He’s my housemate. We’re just down from the market.” He explained and Freddie grinned.

 

“In that case, my dear, I’ll be offended if I don’t receive an invitation for coffee.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for taking your time to read this - I haven't decided if this will be a series of unrelated oneshots or a proper chapter fic yet, so we'll see when the inspiration hits. As always, please leave a comment with anything you enjoyed/any suggestions you have, and leave me some kudos!


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